Sonoma County arts sector gets director

Sonoma County has hired its first official to lead economic development efforts in the for-profit and nonprofit arts sector.

Kristen Madsen, a senior vice president of the Grammy Foundation and MusiCares Foundation in Los Angeles, will serve as director of arts at the Sonoma County Economic Development Board. In her role, she will lead Creative Sonoma, a program aimed at helping grow the local arts sector.

The effort is among the first in the U.S. to bring together the nonprofit and for-profit sectors, including both individual artists and such companies as animation and music studios and art galleries, said Ben Stone, the economic development board’s executive director.

“This represents a new way to look at the arts industry,” Stone said.

For example, he said, Sonoma State University’s Green Music Center is gaining a national reputation and “we really have an opportunity to leverage that” to help grow the county’s economy.

The county Board of Supervisors approved the Creative Sonoma program in June.

“The arts sector is fundamental to who we are as a county, and I’m thrilled that we were able to hire a leader with such an established track record to lead the development of our arts industry,” board Chairwoman Susan Gorin said in a statement. “We are looking forward to working with Ms. Madsen on the Creative Sonoma Program and other arts initiatives.”

Madsen has more than ?20 years of experience working at the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. She also served as executive director of the California Assembly of Local Arts Agencies.

She will start her new position on a part-time basis March 16, with full-time employment starting April 1.

In her role, she will help present a series of spring workshops for local artists, plus an April forum designed to bring together the many members of the arts and creative community. She will help county supervisors form a Creative Sonoma advisory board made up of artists, nonprofit leaders and business owners.

You can reach Staff Writer ?Robert Digitale at 521-5285 or ?robert.digitale@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @rdigit